10 Poor pixies
08 January, night - 09 January 2000
The following days were less straining. Although Draco sometimes slipped back into his snotty habit, he managed to even out his slips mostly on his own. Almost instantly after he had allowed himself to emotionally open up towards Hermione and in the presence of another Slytherin without being mocked, the three of them had automatically settled into some kind of smooth daily routine and meanwhile were content with being around each other. A homely atmosphere had replaced constant bickering.
Hermione liked to watch the men play chess once or twice a day. It reminded her of a father and his son and often she witnessed Draco secretly watching Severus. Although not being sure what he wished or feared to see, it seemed to her that he tried to figure out whether the older man and former friend of his father was being real and honest or just faking and would fall back into whatever mode there could have been once. Hermione had witnessed Lucius in the Manor and before of course – there had been little tender emotion emaciating from him and there had generally been a distant atmosphere between them. Already now there seemed to be more closeness between Severus and Draco than there had ever been before between Lucius and his son.
On the evening of January the eight, Draco and Hermione were rather satisfied with the outcome of the day so far. Their plan of Draco distracting Severus to enable Hermione to secretly prepare a chocolate tart for Severus' 41st birthday the next day had worked out well. In the last minute she had managed to sneak it out on the terrace to the other prepared food and to charm it invisible.
The rest would have to wait until Severus was asleep and that could be very late- or early again, respectively. Very shortly the youngsters had contemplated drugging him with a sleeping draught, but decided that they'd both prefer to go on living with all limbs attached.
Around midnight the men played chess again and Hermione sat with a potions book in front of the fireplace struggling to stay awake. Merlin she was tired, very likely even more so, because she knew she couldn't just retreat to her bed. By the looks of it Draco didn't seem to be overly fit as well. He had had a straining day Apparating to numerous places for certain potions ingredients he suddenly wanted and would want Severus to check before he purchased them. It actually was kind of unbelievable that the older man had fallen for it, but the explanation that there wouldn't be another chance very soon to do so together since the term was about to start on Monday, seemed to have convinced Severus. However, they had not mentioned their joint knowledge of his birthday tomorrow, so he would be surprised – if pleasantly so remained to be seen. When it turned half one, it was time for a strategic change.
"I'll call it a day, boys. Good night," she said and mouthed "wake me" at Draco, who nodded, before adding, "I'll finally be able to concentrate when you don't try staring holes into me anymore."
Typically Slytherin he had recognized her doing so. Rolling her eyes at him she left for her room.
At three, Draco sneaked into her bedroom and woke her up. They waited another fifteen minutes, then Muffliatoed Severus' bedroom and went downstairs.
.o.O.o.
"Where do we start?" Hermione asked sleepily.
"You shrink the table and bring it in, while I start rearranging the rest in here," Draco ordered, "You may lend me a hand then."
"Oh, thank you," she answered mockingly and went head-shakingly into the kitchen. They had planned the make-over together after having accidentally found out about their common dislike of the sitting room's interior design in both visual and practical terms. Draco had had some very solid and convincing ideas to which Hermione had agreed wholeheartedly and so their common birthday present was born.
About half an hour later they had rearranged the furniture in the sitting room, had removed one smaller shelf and a round coffee table from there into the kitchen, where they now formed a cozy coffee corner. It made the small kitchen more inviting and useable without the claustrophobic feeling from before when the large dining table had stood there. Whenever Severus had worked in his lab Hermione had secretly worked towards finishing said table and to prevent him from recognizing she had put an altered Notice-Me-Not charm onto the changes. Now it stood at its new place behind the sofa and in front of the terrace door, where a nice view and daylight would be offered during meals. As a final step they now laid and decorated the dining table and placed the flowers Hermione had bought during the men's absence, when she had returned from shopping baking ingredients and whatever else they both had come up with to be necessary for a proper birthday menu.
Finally, they both sank down into the armchairs and smiled tiredly at each other.
"I like it very much this way."
"I knew my ideas were really good," Draco said in all his signature self-confidence. "And Severus either hexes us into next week for having dared this with his home and on his birthday above all or he will simply be pleased. There's no in between I'm afraid."
"Hmm. Do we share the blame between us or are we going to pull matches and see who of us is to be sacrificed?" Hermione asked.
Draco chuckled at that.
"It was a pleasure plotting with you," he said earnestly.
"The pleasure was mine," she returned and suddenly it dawned on her that this marked an end, "Ahem, Draco-, after tomorrow this surreal arrangement will be over and I just wanted to say that I'll cherish the memory of the unexpected time I spent with a well-disposed enemy."
"Your bar for social contacts doesn't lie very high, does it?"
Hermione snorted slightly. "Being me is currently remarkably lonely, which you probably have guessed by the fact that Severus felt coerced to have me stay here. That, however, does not mean I'm unable to adequately evaluate the pleasure I get out of company – especially out of such that was more than unlikely to be expected."
"Sadly, I can relate, as you know," he returned and pierced her with his grey gaze. "Well-disposed enemies seem rare. You're my first."
They both grinned broadly at that metaphor and their insider. It felt good to share small interpersonal things like this again with someone.
"Chapeau for the tart, by the way, it looks delicious. If nothing else, he'll be pleased about that- if only secretly."
"Thanks," she smiled broadly at him now, still amazed by his capability to openly show honest friendliness. While even a week ago she would have doubted that he was truly capable of such feelings, let alone displays of praise for another human being, especially her, it seemed now that this was truly him and only needed an incentive reassuring enough to be unleashed.
"Velve?" he asked and interrupted her musings.
Realizing that she didn't mind him calling her that, in fact she had come to think of it as a pet name, her gaze that had rested on him turned from staring into encouraging.
"I've known Severus all my life and unless there were lives at stake there's no way to coerce him to do something he is averse to."
"Maybe there were-," she weighed in mysteriously.
Draco studied her while processing the subtext.
"Maybe-. Then all that there is left to say is that if reactions to aversion looked like his did the last two weeks, the world would be a better place."
Hermione now was seriously flabbergasted by Draco's concession and openness. She had not really expected him to bash her first flicker of displayed sensitivity, but pushing the topic hadn't been high up on her list either.
"He has done a great job," she said heartfelt.
Hermione now fought to keep the sadness at bay since the awareness that from Monday on all the old struggles would be returning full force, was still there. Minerva was likely going to make the rest of her school career a living hell if Remus hadn't managed to talk some sense into her. She would have to put up with Harry's, Ron's and Ginny's occasional presence in Hogwarts for their compulsory NEWTS prep work. Draco would very likely be accepted as resident student by Minerva, so he would be there too. But she strongly suspected that due to the classic inter-House rivalries and loath their sociability wouldn't last. This surely was an advantage for him as being connected to her would likely form another obstacle for his inclusion in the student body. And being Draco Malfoy surely was prejudicial enough. From tomorrow onwards their lives would once again be lived outside their safe bubble here in Manchester and be ruled by the expectations of the wizarding society again. Since her friendship with Harry hadn't managed to survive this, their fragile bond, which likely mainly formed due to the absence of other options, would only stand a snowballs chance in hell. Nevertheless she was thankful for this experience and all this was reason enough for just having said what she had wanted him to know.
She took the blanket from her arm rest and tucked herself up. When she was comfortable she looked at Draco, who absently smiled while obviously slowly drifting-off to sleep. It occurred to her that this was not the best of ideas, but fatigue overwhelmed her almost instantly and she also simply fell asleep over the thought.
.o.O.o.
Following his habit Severus silently wished himself a happy birthday on waking up, knowing that no one else would do so – not due to his general unpopularity, but rather because no one, not even his Slytherins, knew when his birthday was. Severus had always liked to go undetected, but today he felt a slight sting at the notion. A couple of minutes later, when thoroughly washing his hair in the shower, he wondered why the question whether he should have told his two housemates about it, bothered him so much. This was a new feeling and highly irritating for someone who had never cared before. Not even his parents had. The only one, who had never forgotten it was Lucius. He had always given him an excellent bottle of whiskey, even when they still were underage, and they had made it a ceremony finishing it together. This tradition had been broken for the first time on his last birthday in its 25th year since Lucius was imprisoned in Azkaban. Instead of sadness Severus felt that Lucius deserved serving his penalty in prison for everything he had – more or less proudly – done or had let happen out of fear. That was something Severus couldn't blame himself for. Never had fear hindered him to do the right thing: there had always been a higher goal, the greater good, which functioned as an excuse when the innocent had suffered and died – bloody Dumbledore, bloody Voldemort, Severus cursed inwardly and rubbed thoroughly over his face.
If the reasons he had had for letting things happen made it better or worse remained disputable and a matter of perspective – he was walk free and above all got honored for his contributions. But nevertheless did the single destinies he had killed himself and the ones that had been sacrificed due to his inactivity haunt him in his dreams and he failed to forget any single one of them: he remembered their faces, their screams and the despaired and hopeful begging of strangers and colleagues.
With a deep breath and a fierce look into the mirror before him the dark man tried to center himself again and let go of those destructive thoughts for there were two other people, who needed him to have his wits about him now and at least for as long as they both found themselves someone else to take his place.
Suddenly Severus became aware of how precious a gift it was for his birthday to have Lucius' son with him now and to seemingly do him good. Much better than a bottle of whiskey, Severus mused with a genuine small smile.
Having finished in the bathroom Severus deliberately decided for very casual and donned jeans and a black t-shirt for his last day away from Hogwarts. Although having hidden it well so far, at least to his mind, the prospect of returning to school with Draco and Hermione, and especially her problems in tow, wasn't something he looked forward to. Both of them would normally need more time to heal in a safe environment and gather strength, but there was no way this was conformable with school when they aimed at finishing this summer. When closing his door behind him his gaze automatically wandered down the hall to Draco's door and then to Hermione's closed one opposite his. Suddenly it hit him how much this whole situation meant to him and that it would be different from tomorrow onwards. His stomach reacted violently, but being the fighter Severus determinedly walked down the stairs strongly willed to prepare them all a breakfast worth a parting feast and a birthday even though he was the only one aware.
.o.O.o.
Having abruptly come to a halt in the doorframe, his inner spy had scanned what was supposed to be his sitting room and had immediately recognized the two youngsters sleeping in the armchairs, both cozily wrapped in blankets.
He had drawn the line between them and the changes within the second and had equally fast decided to put them both under Muffliato to assess his pixies' nightly work in his own time and uninterrupted.
Walking through the room and scanning it for a second time and more intensely now, he had to grin at what he saw. Of course this was his sitting room, but it looked totally different from six hours ago when he had left it. His gaze finally came to rest on the tastefully decorated dining table and then it struck him like lightning.
"I'm not the only one knowing," the man said to himself and felt his heart go lighter while taking in the flowers. No one had ever given him flowers. Were men given flowers anyway? Why not? Then he realized that his mind started babbling due to emotional and informational overflow. The dominating emotion was happiness, he was sure, pure joy at their enthusiasm, if he liked the outcome was still to be defined. As far as the informational part was concerned he believed to understand that this whole arrangement was likely supposed to be some kind of birthday present they had worked out together, crowned by flowers and a tempting-looking tart full of obscene calories on an opulent dining table in his sitting room. His table. The table. The one a certain woman had taken shared custody of a fortnight ago. He observed their sleeping forms trying to make sense.
Only three weeks ago, he would have cursed everyone out of the room, who would have told him that his birthday was to start with two normally antagonized students sleeping in his living room instead of their assigned bedrooms, above all, and after obviously having conspired to redecorate said room in the middle of the night as a birthday present. And for him of all people. Severus was moved, to put it mildly. With another glance at his pixies he left for the kitchen to search for the missing two pieces of furniture and to gather himself during the process of preparing tea.
.o.O.o.
"Good morning, sleepyheads," he said ten minutes later and not only a little louder than necessary.
Severus smirked at their confusion on waking up.
"It's much appreciated that you took it on you to keep watch after the obvious intrusion, but don't worry! It was probably just some kids from the neighborhood, who decided to have some fun on my behalf. We'll be able to put it all back in no time," he reassured them.
Draco and Hermione exchanged alarmed looks but were obviously lost for words at the moment. Severus started to enjoy this since they seemed sleepy enough to not remember that the house was heavily warded and that he was certainly not a man that invited anyone to wind up.
"I wasn't sure about the food though. It looks good, but maybe it was tampered with. I have refrained from disposing it as it is a good chance for you two to practice detecting spells. Would be a shame to put it in the bin, especially the tempting tart- although I'm-" he kept on musing aloud while inspecting the tart more closely and hoping his voice wouldn't betray his amusement.
"Severus, no!" Hermione shouted when he got really close to the tart.
She jumped up and clung to his wand arm to stop him from whatever he was about to do. Now he burst with laughter, much to the shock of the youngsters.
"I was joking," he said under his breath, patting her hand.
"What? You-, you-. Are you kidding me?"
"Actually-, yes," he arched both eyebrows at her.
Draco was less amused since he knew about Hermione's effort and regarding what had been implied in her subtext last night and what he had witnessed, Draco had a faint hunch of what this probably meant to her. Interestingly enough he found himself only slightly distracted by sympathizing with Hermione Granger.
She softly slapped his chest and stepped back.
"Not funny, Severus Snape!"
"Feel entitled to your opinion. But you nearly gave me a heart attack at the sight of my living room and since I happily survived today's first birthday attack, I consider myself entitled to have some fun," he said and grinned broadly at her.
She looked sheepishly at him.
"Happy birthday, old man," she said airily now, got on tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
"Happy birthday, Severus," Draco stood next to her and hugged Severus clumsily but heartfelt. Now it was Hermione's turn to grin. Slytherins obviously didn't do hugs and they both looked something like uncomfortably pleased.
"I gather you did all of this last night?"
"Not all of it, no," Draco said, "Just the rearranging and the decorations."
"What about the food? There was none-"
"You really got older, huh?" she teased and added in a whisper, "Don't be alarmed, but we are able to do magic."
Draco leaned in to her. "It's his birthday. Shouldn't we present him with the whole truth?"
"Go for it, then!" She played along albeit wondering what Draco was going at.
"Severus, well, I don't know how to put this-," Draco started laboriously and Severus indeed became visibly nervous.
"Get it over with before another heart attack approaches. He didn't exactly get younger today," Hermione urged him.
"Right, well-," Draco said and put his hand on Severus arm, "you are a wizard, too," he exclaimed with anxiously furrowed brows.
Hermione bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from laughing out really loud, not at the joke, but at witnessing the different facial expressions Severus went through before scowling at them and wordlessly Accioeing both their wands.
"Let's see how long it takes until you are really sorry and will swear off impertinence for good. Going by the amounts of food piled up here, I reckon there'll be loads of dishes to clean tonight-," he mocked and at least Draco looked alarmed at this prospect.
Pleased, Severus took the seat at the head of the table and absently stroked the surface next to the plate.
"Do I get an answer?"
The youngsters both settled on the back of the sofa.
"I prepared it all yesterday when you went shopping ingredients and just finished in time to hex it all invisible on the terrace," Hermione explained.
They could see how it clicked.
Gazing at Draco, he asked impressed, "So your sudden need of ingredients was part of a scheme?"
The blond man shrugged his shoulders.
"Needed- not so much. Wanted? Yes! And we thought since it was right up your street, it was killing two birds with one stone," he answered disarmingly.
Severus contemplated them both and had to resist the urge to pull them into a hug. He went for conceding instead.
"For the record: I'm properly and pleasantly surprised by your effort," he said slowly and added a most unexpected, "thank you," which made both youngsters beam at him with relief and joy. "And now off with you to the bathroom. It's hard to resist murdering the tart."
Hermione emerged in the living room first and found Severus reading, still sitting at the head of the table. Invitingly, he flicked one of the chairs back.
"Hermione," Severus said gently when she had taken her seat, "you secretly finished the table.
"Not really. I only tried to secretly ensure a sustainable status quo before I'd leave." They locked eyes. "And I daresay I was successful," she said smilingly.
Severus leaned towards her.
"And I agree wholeheartedly," he said in his velvety voice and on leaning back again, added, "It was worth the effort, as was your baking. The tart looks like a piece of art."
Draco hummed in confirmation, while sitting down in a chair opposite hers.
"But you were not supposed to draw on your core for minor issues," Severus reminded her.
"I refrain from pointing out how a birthday is not a minor issue- tsk. I didn't plan to give away another secret, but well," she sighed theatrically, "Draco-, better cover your ears. This is not for you to hear, yet," she advised with an arched eyebrow and pretended to wait for him.
"Then I will of course listen anyway," he answered snobbishly.
Hermione grinned.
"But don't blame me for any nightmares this might provoke-," she said while turning her hands slowly in front of their faces, "I recently found out that there is more use for these two than just wand-waving. And that's why I didn't draw on my core, but baked the tart - with these two hands. Well-, and with some basic ingredients and your oven of course," she said with a tone of voice normally reserved for little children or the mentally retarded.
Draco covered his mouth with his hand and inhaled sharply.
"Next time I trust your judgment on my coping abilities," he said with feigned horror before grinning amusedly.
The birthday boy, by the looks of it, seemed to process the real range of the effort she had put into everything, which would surely impress wand-waving-for-everything-wizards more than it would a Muggle, she mused. His face showed that he was indeed moved and that he didn't even try to hide it, made Hermione happy. As if to himself, he nodded slightly and then held her gaze.
"Thank you." The smooth voice again.
Draco managed to stifle a yawn, but immediately passed the urge on to Hermione.
"I'll prepare coffee. I think tea alone won't do the job today," Draco chipped in after they had stuffed themselves and looked all very content. However, he didn't move.
"Right, my- pixies were up late to work their magic for me," Severus teased, "When did you get down here?"
"After you were fast asleep. Which was a quarter past three."
"Poor pixies," Severus smirked further and they rolled their eyes at him.
"Be glad they are fond of you. Better don't spoil it," Hermione warned and Draco hummed in approval.
"Exactly. To be honest, the idea of adding sleeping-draught to your tea was on the table-, Draco said.
"But we dropped it immediately," Hermione interfered with a scowl. It was impolite to point out that the birthday boy caused problems arranging his surprise. Even if said boy overdid the teasing a bit.
"Though it became tempting again around one thirty in the morning," Draco added unimpressed.
Hermione now couldn't help, but to grin at Severus, who arched his signature eyebrow at them.
"It certainly would have been an interesting life-choice on your part," the dark man mused, tilting his head contemplatively.
"And aren't you proud of us for having shown the wisdom to recognize prudence to be the better part of valor and having overpowered our death wish before it took the chance to show-off?" Draco asked.
"Wisdom? Merlin help! Your sleep deprivation has obviously led to serious delusions of grandeur. I shall not be held responsible for them to worsen-," Severus said strictly and got to his feet, "I'll prepare some strong coffee for my- wise pixies."
He smirked at their baffled looks while heading for the kitchen. On seeing the now spacious and yet cozy coffee and reading spot in the kitchen again, he realized that he couldn't remember ever having felt this content on his birthday.